I was just curious if any of the HO crew has any facts or opinions on how the extreme cold temperatures impact a whitetail? Looking at the hourly forecast, the actual temp is supposed to be -18 at sunrise Monday, with a -43 wind chill. Actually, I am curious as to what the impacts are to all wildlife. I know wildlife animals have survived these temperatures many times in the past as it was more common years ago, but is there more of a concern since it really isn’t that common now?

One thing for sure is Bucks shed early when this kind of weather hits. And i got my first call a wk ago from a friend finding a shed with blood on the burr, and it was a young buck. Not good news for them with Another antlerless gun season approaching.

It can be devastating to turkey populations when there is a substantial amount of snow cover and no adequate food source available within reach. The brutal cold and the deep snow will probably cause some losses in the turkey populations in some areas. Deep snow makes it difficult for them to find food. And the fresh snowfall will also hinder their mobility if it has much depth do it. They need it to crust over so they can walk on top. Otherwise they are more vulnerable to predation from coyotes and such.

As far as “facts”....I can’t list any sources. The only rule on snow depth I can remember, is that it takes 3” or more of snow for 3 days….to move Canada Geese. I used to be able to watch the weather up north and then count the days to know when to hunt. And it worked like a charm. I’m in south central IL. I know they got some good snow in the central and northern part of the state mid-week. We were out playing in the snow earlier this morning that is coming down on us now….and the Canada’s were coming down like I haven’t seen since the 90’s.

I know none of this pertains to deer, per the title of your post. But it’s interesting nonetheless. At least to me!!!!

Tim, I know two guys who have seen shed bucks as of last weekend. One of them had seen two, and the other guy had seen one. And 2 of the last 3 years we had seen at least one clean buck during the LWS around New Years.

It’s not uncommon to see bucks that have shed by now. Usually see or hear of a couple by now that have one side or both gone.
I can’t imagine how tough it is for the deer in this weather. Finding food could be almost impossible. Hope we don’t lose anymore deer. Warmer temps are a couple days away though so it shouldn’t be too bad. They are truly one tough animal!